Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four other people have died in a plane crash in Baramati, according to reports quoting DGCA sources. Ajit Pawar was scheduled to fly to Baramati to attend four significant public meetings. Reports say that the NCP chief was traveling to address rallies ahead of the upcoming local body elections. Pawar was travelling in the Lear Jet 45 aircraft, VT-SSK.
#WATCH | Delhi | Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar passes away in a charter plane crash in Baramati; Visuals from ANI Archives
Ajit Pawar, Deputy CM of Maharashtra, was onboard along with 2 more personnel (1 PSO and 1 attendant) and 2 crew (PIC+FO) members in the charter plane.… pic.twitter.com/pzJ12LvcQT
— ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2026
Ajit Pawar Baramati Plane Crash Details
The incident occurred around 9 a.m., approximately an hour after the plane had taken off from Mumbai. Eyewitness footage from the site shows fire and smoke rising from the wreckage, with the mangled remains of the aircraft visible. Ambulances were seen rushing the injured to nearby hospitals.
#WATCH | A plane crash reported in Baramati, Maharashtra. More details awaited.
Visuals from the spot. pic.twitter.com/xkx0vtY5cp
— ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2026
The crash landing of Mumbai-Baramati charter plane occurred at the runway threshold in Baramati. Pawar was onboard along with 2 more personnel (1 PSO and 1 attendent) and 2 crew members. Further details about the crash are awaited.
Pawar was headed to Baramati to attend a public rally for the Zilla Parishad Elections. Pawar was in Mumbai on Tuesday, where he attended a meeting of the Maharashtra Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure, chaired by CM Devendra Fadnavis. Maharashtra Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule and other officials were also present.
Who Was Ajit Pawar?
Ajit Pawar was the longest serving Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra non-consecutively. He served in the position for six terms within various governments. He had worked as deputy chief minister in the cabinets of Prithviraj Chavan, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde.
He is married to Sunetra Pawar, with whom he has two sons, Jay and Parth Pawar.
In 1982, Ajit Pawar began his political career after being elected to the board of a cooperative sugar factory. In 1991, he was elected as the chairman of the Pune District Central Cooperative Bank.
Ajit Pawar Political Career
He was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1991 from the Baramati Parliamentary constituency and later vacated the seat for his uncle Sharad Pawar. He was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly seven times from the Baramati Assembly constituency. He first won in a 1991 by-election and subsequently in 1995, 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014.
In November 2019, he engineered a split in the NCP and joined a government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party and became the Deputy Chief Minister. In February 2024, the Election Commission awarded the party name and symbol to the faction headed by Ajit Pawar.
(With inputs from ANI)
Also Read: Breaking: NCP Leader & Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s Plane Crashes in Baramati
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
